Nasa's latest budget is set to include a greater emphasis on the search for life and also fund a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa in 2022.

In a draft bill, the agency has been told to start a new Ocean Worlds Exploration Programme that would hunt for life in the outer solar system.

But the budget proposals also include cuts for the Earth Science and private spaceflight programmes, drawing criticism from both Nasa and the White House.

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US Congress in Washington has revealed their budget for Nasa. It directs the agency to start an 'Ocean Worlds Exploration Programme'. This would search for life in the solar system - such as on Europa (shown). However the bill cuts Earth Science funding, drawing criticism from Nasa

The bill, which can be viewed online, was drawn up by the US House Appropriations Committee and will be considered today.

If passed, it will give the agency $18.529 billion (£11.94 billion) of funding up to September 2016 - an increase of $519 million from last year.

Excitingly, there is a large emphasis on searching for life both in our own solar system and beyond, with multiple missions planned.

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Planetary Science funding was slashed in 2013 following various cuts but has now returned to those levels with $1.6 billion (£1 billion).

'This is a marvellous day for planetary science and the search for life,' said science reporter Eric Berger from the Houston Chronicle.

NASA'S PROPOSED BUDGET

Science: $5.237 billion (£3.375 billion)

Exploration: $4.759 billion (£3.068 billion)

Space operations: $3.957 billion (£2.55 billion)

Education: $119 million (£76.7 million)

Other: $3.23 billion (£2.08 billion)

Total: $18.529 billion (£11.94 billion)

The bill proposes $140 million (£90 million) for a robotic mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa - $110 million (£71 million) above what was requested.

It directs Nasa to achieve a launch ‘no later than 2022’ on its upcoming Space Launch System rocket.

A further $86 million (£55 million) is intended for the Ocean Worlds Exploration Programme, with a goal to ‘discover [existing] life’ on one of the solar system’s outer moons.

These include Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, in addition to Europa, which are thought to have vast reservoirs of water - and possibly life - under their surface.

The goal of the Ocean Worlds Exploration Programme would be to ‘discover [existing] life’ on one of the solar system’s outer moons. These include Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, in addition to Europa, which are thought to have vast reservoirs of water - and possibly life - under their surface (illustrated)

While the budget doesn’t say specifically what sort of mission should be mounted, the money will be useful for researching methods to peer, or even travel beneath, the surfaces of these worlds.

The more primitive Europa Clipper mission, meanwhile, will have the goal of flying past Europa multiple times to evaluate the ocean believed to be underground.

It may even fly through ejected plumes from the moon, and Nasa is also looking at various proposals to include a lander that could analyse the surface.

This could be useful in working out, for example, if it is possible to ‘melt’ the surface, which a future lander could do to explore underneath.

Nasa's Europa Clipper mission (illustrated) would be launched in 2022 on a Space Launch System under the new budget. It will have the goal of flying past Europa multiple times to evaluate the ocean believed to be underground, and may even carry a lander with it

Observations of Europa and other moons have heavily suggested there are vast reservoirs of liquid water underground waiting to be explored. It is theorised that the conditions in these environments could be suitable for life to survive

The House does not want Nasa to hunt for life only in the solar system, though.

The budget says that Nasa should ‘eventually identify exoplanet candidates that could harbour life.’

With regards to exploration, the Space Launch System gets $1.356 billion (£873.8 million) - almost $500 million (£322 million) more than requested - but the House calls on Nasa to lay out proper plans for the rocket in the 2020s, with its goals at the moment remaining quite vague.

Funding to restart production of Plutonium-238 is also included, which is a necessary source of fuel to explore the outer solar system.

All of this comes at a cost, though. The budget proposes cutting $269 million (£173 million) from the amount requested for the Earth Science programme.

This would scrap a proposed satellite known as the Thermal-Infrared Free Flyer, intended to perform observations of Earth.

Where the other cuts would come from is not clear.

With regards to exploration, the Space Launch System (illustrated) gets $1.356 billion (£873.8 million) - almost $500 million (£322 million) more than requested - but calls on Nasa to lay out proper plans for the rocket in the 2020s, with its goals at the moment remaining quite vague

The budget does not only call for finding life in the solar system, though. The upcoming Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), artist's impression shown, is given $36 million (£23 million) of funding to directly image exoplanets beyond the solar system

Previously, US Senator Ted Cruz said that Nasa should focus more on space exploration, and not on studying our planet.

‘I would suggest that almost any American would agree that the core function of Nasa is to explore space,’ he said in March.

But responding to the latest draft budget, Nasa chief Charles Bolden said that ‘the House proposal would seriously reduce our Earth science programme and threaten to set back generations worth of progress in better understanding our changing climate.’

He added this would affect ‘our ability to prepare for and respond to earthquakes, droughts, and storm events.’

Responding to the latest draft budget, Nasa chief Charles Bolden (pictured) said ‘the House proposal would seriously reduce [Nasa's] Earth science program and threaten to set back generations worth of progress in better understanding our changing climate’

The budget also allocated only $1 billion (£644 million) to the Commercial Crew programme, which is funding companies like SpaceX and Boeing to develop vehicles to take humans into orbit.

This is $246 million (£158 million) below what was requested and, according to Bolden, could seriously hamper efforts to ultimately send humans to Mars.

He added this 'would guarantee we will continue to send millions of dollars a year to Moscow instead of investing that money in United States, creating jobs and once again launching Americans from US soil.’

The White House, meanwhile, said that the level of funding for the Europa mission was ‘impractical,’ at the cost of ‘jeopardising Earth Science missions that are helping us understand how our climate is changing.’

So, while the budget is good news for planetary science and the search for life in the solar system and beyond, it is bad news for other areas that would have to be cut as a result.

The budget also allocated only $1 billion (£644 million) to the Commercial Crew programme, which is funding companies like SpaceX and Boeing to develop vehicles to take humans into orbit. On the left in this illustration is Boeing's CST-100, in the middle is SpaceX's Crew Dragon and on the right is Nasa's Orion